Feeding mechanism for threshers



Nov. 10, 1942. H. w. PILCHER ETAL 2,301,578

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR THRESHERS Filed March 1, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR: HAROLD n. P/LGHER A. PAR SE 7! f A Q2? AfTORNEYS.

Nov. 10, 1942. H. w. PILCHER ETAL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR THRESHERS FiledMarch 1, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR: HAROLD W PILCHEI? 1942- H. w.PILCHER ETAL FEEDING MECHANISM FOR THRESHERS Filed March 1, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet 3 l N V EN TOR: HAROLD PM P/LCHER 1942. H. w. PILCHER EI'ALFEEDING MECHANISM FOR THRESHERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR; HAROLD n.P/LCHER I ATDTORNEYS.

Filed March 1, 1940 Patented Nov. 10, 1942 FEEDING MECHANISM FORTBBESHERS Harold W. Pilcher, Rock Island, and Louis A. Paradise, Moline,IlL, assignors to Deere & Company, Moline, 111., a corporation ofIllinois Application March 1, 1940, Serial No. 321,678

7- Claims.

The present invention relates generally to combines and moreparticularly to the harvesting mechanism for gathering the crops andconveying them to the threshing cylinder. The principal object of thisinvention relates to the provision of improved harvesting mechanismwhich operates efficiently under widely varying crop conditions toconvey the crop to the threshing cylinder with a minimum loss of grainand with a minimum of clogging or slugging. A further object of thisinvention has to do with the provision of an improved construction whichfacilitates the assembly and disassembly of the harvester platform forthe purpose of transporting the machine from one field to anotherthrough narrow gates.

More specifically, this invention is particularly concerned with acombine of the type having a longitudinally extending thresher body anda laterally extending platform pivotally connected thereto for verticalswinging movement to permit the adjustment of the height of the cutterbar. It is customary in a machine of this type to provide a feederconveyor between the main platform conveyor and the threshing cylinderand this feeder conveyor is necessarily vertically swingable in order toaccommodate the vertical movement of the harvesting platform relative tothe thresher body. In the accomplishment of the principal object of thisinvention we have provided a feeder conveyor of the flexible endlesstype disposed in front of the threshing cylinder for feeding cropsthereto; and to assist in feeding the harvested material into thethresher cylinder, we have provided a rotary beater disposed directly infront of the cylinder and above the rear end of the feeder conveyor. Itis desirable, however, to maintain a substantially constant I spacingbetween the rotary heater and the feeder conveyor, as well as asubstantially constant spacing between the rotary beater and thethreshing cylinder during operation of the machine regardless ofvertical movement of the platform which causes a vertical swingingmovement of the feeder conveyor. It is, therefore, a specific object ofour invention to provide a bearing mounting for the rotary beater whichmaintains a substantially fixed relation between the feeder, thecylinder, and the conveyor, regardless of vertical movement of thelatter.

This invention contemplates the use of a main conveyor of the auger typeextending transversely of the machine behind the cutter bar for movingcrops along the platform into the feeder house. For transport purposesit is necessary in a machine of this type to reduce the width of theplatform to accommodate the machine to narrow roads and gates. Toaccomplish this purpose we found it preferable to remove the auger inone unitary piece, after which the outer end of the platform can bedismounted. The auger is supported on a shaft which extends across theplatform and is supported in a pair of journal bearings at opposite endsthereof carried in the end walls of the platform, respectively, thedrive gears and overload release clutch mechanism being mounted on theauger shaft outside of one of the end walls. To facilitate the assemblyand disassembly of the auger it is one of the specific objects of ourinvention to provide a bearing mounting which will permit removing theauger without the necessity of disassembling and removing the drive gearand slip clutch from the auger shaft. In the accomplishment of thisobject the end wall of the platform is provided with an opening largeenough to permit the shaft with the driving mechanism mounted thereon,to be inserted therethrough. The shaft bearing is attached to a platewhich can then be rigidly secured to the wall in a position tocompletely cover the opening.

It is customary to provide a baffle disposed horizontally along the backwall of the platform and extending forwardly over the upper portion ofthe auger conveyor for the purpose of assisting the conveyor in movingthe harvested material along the platform trough and preventing thematerial from winding around the auger. It is desirable that the forwardedge of the baffle extend to a position closely adjacent the upper edgeof the auger conveyor in order to act as a stripper in preventingharvested material from being thrown forwardly over the auger undernormal conditions. We have found, however, that in certain cropconditions in which. there is an abundance of heavy weeds mixed with thegrain, it is desirable to increase the clearance between the stripperedge of the baflle and the auger in order to decrease the possibility ofthe heavy weeds becoming clogged between the auger and the stripperedge. It is, therefore, a still further specific object of our inventionto provide means for adjusting the clearance between the stripper edgeof the baflle and the edge of the blades of the auger.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent after a consideration of the following description in whichreference is had to the drawings apended hereto, in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of a combine embodying the principles of our inventionand showing the general arrangement of parts thereof;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view taken from the stubbleward side ofthe combine with the wall removed and showing a part of the threshingchamber and the feeder housing and platform;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the combine takenfrom the stubbleward side of the machine and showing the junctionbetween the feeder house and the thresher body;

Figure 4 is a partial side elevation of the junction between the feederhouse and the thresher body, as viewed from the opposite side of thefeeder house;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken along a line 5-5 inFigure 1 and showing the details of construction of the adjustablebaffie over the auger conveyor;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the mounting for the bearing on thedriving end of the auger conveyor shaft and showing the slip clutch anddriving gear means on the outer end of the shaft;

' Figure 7 is a sectional plan view taken along a horizontal planepassing through the axis of the conveyor shaft and supporting bearing atthe driving end of the shaft; and

Figure 8 is a sectional plan view similar to Figure 7 but showing thebearing mounting at the opposite end of the auger conveyor shaft.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to the generalarrangement of the combine as shown in Figure l, the combine indicatedgenerally by reference numeral I comprises a harvesting unit indicatedin its entirety by reference numeral H, and a thresher body l2containing the usual grain threshing and separating mechanism. Thethresher body I2 is supported on a structural framework I! which in turnis carried upon a pair of laterally spaced supporting wheels, one ofwhich I4 is evident in Figure l. The structural frame l3 has a forwardlyextending draft portion I rigidly secured thereto and the draft portionI5 is adapted to be supported on the drawbar of a tractor by means of arigid hitch member I 6.

The harvesting unit ll comprises a transverse 1y extending platform 20including a conventional cutter bar 2| behind which is disposed a transversely extending conveyor trough 22. A more or less conventional augerconveyor 23 is mounted in the platform trough 22 for rotation about anaxis generally transverse with respect to the direction of travel of thecombine and is supported by bearing means which will be described moreparticularly in another part of this description. The auger 23 conveysthe harvested material laterally inwardly to a feeder house 24 whichextends rearwardly from the inner end of the main conveyor 23 and isrigid with respect to the platform 20.

The feeder house 24 and platform 20 are swingably connected to thethresher housing l2 for vertical swinging movement as a unit about theaxis of a transversely disposed shaft 25. Other supporting arms rigidlyconnected to the platform 20 are pivotally connected to the structuralsupporting frame l3 for vertical swinging movement about pivots disposedin alignment with the shaft 25, but inasmuch as the general arrangementand construction of the combine is not directly concerned with thepresent invention, the details of such construction are not asonevetion. It is suilicient to saythat the platform 25 and feeder housing 24are vertically swingable as a unitary structure about the axis of theshaft 25 under the control of a hand wheel 26 which is accessible froman operator's platform 2'! supported on the draft frame E5. The handwheel 26 controls a rotatable pinion (not shown) which engages a rack 28on a vertical lifting rod 29 which extends downwardly to a point ofconnection 35 at the inner front comer of the feeder housing 24. Theharvesting unit is counterbalanced by means of a pair of laterallyspaced springs 3| connected to a pair of hell cranks 32 which are inturn connected to the harvesting unit by a pair of tension rods 33.

Coming now to that part of the implement with which my invention is moreparticularly concerned and with particular reference to Figures 2, 3 and4, the inner end of the auger conveyor 23 discharges the harvestedmaterial upon a rearwardly extending conveyor of the flexible endlesstype 35. The conveyor 35 comprises a lower roller .36 mounted on a shaft31 disposed rearwardly of and adjacent to the auger conveyor 83 andlournaled at opposite ends thereof in the side walls 38, 39 of thefeeder housing 24. An upper conveyor roller 40 is mounted on the shaft25 which is joumaled in bearings which are mounted on the vertical framemembers 4|, 42 respectively, at the front end of the thresher body I2.The flexible endless conveyor member 35 consists of a pair of laterallyspaced drive chains 43 connected together at intervals by transversewood slats 44 which pass upwardly along a platform sheet 45 which issupported at its upper and lower ends upon the shafts 25, 31,respectively. It is now evident that as the platform and feeder houseswing vertically about the transverse shaft 25, the feeder conveyor 35also swings about the same axis and therefore the uper end of theconveyor remains in a fixed position relative to the thresher body asthe feeder house swings vertically.

The threshing cylinder 50 is rotatably mounted in the front of thethresher body l2 on a transverse shaft 5| which is Journaled at oppositeends thereof in a pair of bearings 52, 53, the latter being shiftablealong a pair of inclined guideways 54, 55, respectively. Connected toeach of the bearings 52, 53 by means of a pivot pin 58, is a swinginglink 51 in the form of an eye bolt having a threaded shank which isreceived in an aperture in abracket 58 fixed to the upper end of each ofthe guideways 54, 55. The cylinder is secured in adjusted position alongthe guideways by means of a pair of lock nuts 59 threaded on the eyebolts 51 on opposite sides of the bracket 58. The purpose of thisadjustment is to set the proper clearance between the threshing cylinder50 and the concaves 60 which are fixedly supported in the thresherhousing I2 beneath deemed to be a necessary part of this descripthecylinder 50.

A second feeder in the form of a rotary beater 55 is positioned abovethe flexible conveyor 35 at the upper end thereof and immediately infront of the cylinder to assist the conveyor 35 in feeding harvestedmaterial into the threshing cylinder. The rotary beater 55comprises aplurality of radially extending blades 65 supported on a shaft 61 whichis journaled at its opposite ends, respectively, in a pair of bearings68, on the outside of each of the side walls 38, 39 of the feederhousing 24. Each of the bearings 58 is mounted on a vertical plate 69.Each of the plates 59 is shiftable fore and aft in guideways I securedto the outsides of the feeder house walls 00, 30, respectively. Theguideways III are disposed generally parallel to the feeder conveyor 85so that the rotary beater 58 can be shifted fore and aft parallel to thefeeder conveyor. side walls l8, 38 of. the feeder house 24 are, ofcourse, slotted to permit the feeder shaft 01 to move in this manner.Each of the slida'ble plates 00 is connected by means of a pin II to arearwardly extendinglink I2, the rear ends of the links being swingablyconnected to brackets I3 fixed to the vertical frame members 4|, 42 atopposite sides of the front of the thresher housing I2, respectively.Thus, it is evident that as the feeder house 24 swings vertically duringharvesting operation, the rotary beater is shifted fore and aft in theguideways I0 by the action of the vertically swingable links I2 whichtend to maintain a substantially constant spacing between the rotarybeater 85 and the threshing cylinder 50, and since the guideways 10 areparallel to the feeder conveyor 35, the rotary beater is maintained at aconstant spacing above the feeder conveyor in all positions of thefeeder house 24. Thus it is evident that the effectiveness of the rotarybeater 65 in feeding grain to the threshing cylinder, is not impaired bythe vertical adjustment of the cutter bar and feeder house.

The junction between the feeder house 24 and the thresher body I2 issealed by means of an arcuate hood I5 which is curved about a radiusextending from the axis of the shaft 25. An angle frame member I6 isfixed transversely across the upper edge of the feeder house 24 andslides in contact with the hood 25 as the feeder house swings verticallyto maintain the seal between the feeder house and the thresher body I2.A pair of side walls 11, I8 are fixed to the hood I5 and extenddownwardly on opposite sides of the feeder house 24 to seal the sides ofthe opening between the feeder and the thresher body.

At the forward end of the conveyor 35 and spaced above the latter andbehind the auger conveyor 23, is a stripper cylinder 80 having aplurality of outwardly extending fingers 8| adapted to engage harvestedmaterial which tends to cling to the blades of the auger and toss thelatter rearwardly upon the flexible feeder The conveyor 35. The strippercylinder is mounted on a shaft 82 carried in suitable bearings in theopposite side walls 38, 30 of the feeder house 24.

The harvesting and threshing mechanism on the combine are driven bymeans of an auxiliary gasoline motor, indicated at 85, (see Figure 1).The motor 85 drives the threshing cylinder by means of a chain 88 whichengages a sprocket 81 on the grainward end of the threshing cylindershaft 5I (see Figure 4). The feeder conveyor 35 and heaters 65, 80 aredriven by means of a flexible chain 88 (Figure 3) which engages asprocket 88 fixed to the opposite end of the thresher cylinder shaft 5I.The chain 88 is trained over a sprocket 90 fixed on the shaft 81 of therotary beater 55 and also passes over a sprocket ill on the shaft 25 fordriving the upper roller of the conveyor 85. The chain 88 is alsotrained over a sprocket, not shown, on the shaft 82 of the strippercylinder 80, and also chain tightening means for taking up the slack inthe chain resulting from the vertical swinging movement of the feederhouse 24. The chain tightener comprises an idler 8| journaled on an arm02 which is pivoted at 83 on the thresher housing i2 above the chain 88and engages the latter to maintain tightness. The arm 92 is urgeddownwardly by means of a spring 94 connected to an eye bolt 95 which isadjustably fixed to a frame member 08 rigidly mounted on the combineframe I3.

The auger conveyor. comprises a hollow shaft I00 of a substantialdiameter to prevent wrapping of the stalks thereabout and supported onthe hollow shaft I00 is a helically wound auger blade IOI which is woundin such a direction thatthe harvested material is moved toward thefeeder house when the auger is turned in a clockwise direction, asviewed from the grainward side, as in Figure 5. The auger is disposed ina platform trough 22 which is preferably curved about the axis ofrotation of the auger 23. The trough is continued upwardly at the rearof the auger to form a back wall I02 'which extends along the entirelength of the platform. As is customary in a platform having an augerconveyor, a horizontal bafile, indicated in its entirety by referencenumeral I03, is mounted on the back wall I02 and extends along thelength thereof and projects forwardly over the upper side of the auger23. The baiile I03 comprises a pair of upper and lower sheet metalstrips I04, I05, respectively, having rear flanges I08 serving tosupport the strips on the back wall by means of rivets I01. The stripsI04, I05 converge downwardly and forwardly from the back wall and have apair of downwardly turned outer flanges I08 which fit closely togetherand are joined by means of a series of bolts I00. The lower edges of theflanges I 08 terminate above the upper portion of the auger 23 and arevertically spaced from the edges of the helical veins IOI of the auger.

Although it is customary to provide such a battle for the purpose ofengaging any stalks that tend to pass over the top of the auger byvirtue of the rotation of the latter and thus cause the stalks to bemoved laterally along the back wall I02 toward the feeder house, we havediscovered that the efliciency of the baille can be greatly increased byproviding a means for adjusting the clearance between the stripper edgealong the forward edge of the baffle and the auger conveyor 23.Heretofore, it hasbeen customary to provide non-adjustable baffles withsufficient clearance over the auger to prevent heavy weed stalks fromclogging the gap between the baffle and the auger blades, but whenoperating in other conditions where the crops are clean and with fewweeds, the auger does not operate at its maximum efficiency due to theclearance being more than necessary. Accordingly, we have provided anadjustable stripper edge in the form of an adjustable edge plate I I0,which lies in juxtaposition with the downwardly turned flanges I08 ofthe baille strips I04, I05, and extending along the entire length of thebaille I03. The plate H0 is provided with vertically extending slots IIIthrough which the bolts I09 are inserted. The slots III permit verticaladjustment of the plate H0 relative to the bolts I09 to increase ordecrease the clearance between the lcwer edge of the stripper plate H0and the vanes I0l of the auger 23. The plate H0 is rigidly fixed to thebaffle strips I04, I05 by tightening the nuts II2 on the bolts I00.

Each end of the hollow shaft I00 of the auger 23 is supported on aspider H5, H8, respectively, (see Figures 7 and 8). Each of the spiderscom- 4 prises a casting having a hub portion I carrying a radial webportion 8. which carries at its outer edge an axially extending flange Hfor supporting the hollow shaft I00. The hubs III are each supported ona'stub shaft I20, I2I, respectively. The stubbleward end of the conveyor23 extends into the feeder house 29 which has an opening I22 in itsgrainward side to receive the auger, as best shown in Figure l. Thestubbleward wall 39 of the lower portion of the feeder house 20 isprovided with an aperture I23 through which the stub shaft I29 extendsbeyond the wall 39. The shaft I28 is journaled in a bearing hub I20provided with suitable antifriction rollers I25 and the hub I29 has acylindrical rtion I26 that is accurately machined to fitsnu 1y within acooperative aperture in a plate IZI, which sets against a shoulder I 2ton the hub. The plate IN is rigidly fixed by means of bolts I29 to asupporting plate I30 having outwardly turned upper and lower flanges Iiii, I02, respectively. The upper flange I9I is rigidly but detachablyfixed by means of bolts I33 to the outwardly extending flange of astructural frame member I30 extending generally fore and aft along theside of the wall 39 of the feeder housing. Similarly, the lower flangeI92 is rigidly but detachably connected by bolts I35 to the outwardlyturned flange I99 of a bracket I9I which is secured to the lower framemember I96 of the feeder house. Thus the supporting plate I30 issupported by means of the bolts I33 direct- 1y within the opening I 29in the wall 39 of the feeder house. The opening I23 is tightly sealed bymeans of a sealing plate I40 which is apertured to receive the hub IMand is fixed to the supporting plate I30 by rivets MI and thus bearsfirmly against the inside of the feeder house wall 39 to prevent loss ofharvested material through the opening I23.

The stub shaft I20 is secured within the hub I I! by means of a key I45disposed in suitable aligned grooves in the hub I II and stub shaft I20, and held in place by means of a set screw III; which is threadedinto a boss III in the hub. The set screw I49 can be tightened orloosened by inserting a suitable socket wrench through an opening I48 inthe hollow shaft I00 in alignment with the set screw I46. Thus it isevident that the stub shaft I20 is disposed in driving relation to thehub III. I

The stub shaft I20 is driven by means outside the feeder housing wall39, as will now be described.

The stub shaft I20 is driven by a chain (not shown) extending from adrive sprocket on the shaft 82 of the stripper cylinder 80 and inasmuchas this drive sprocket is of conventional construction it is not shownin detail In the.

drawings. The drive chain is trained over a sprocket I50 which'issecured by means of bolts II to one memberv I52 of a slip clutch oroverload release clutch, indicated in its entirety by reference numeralI53. The clutch member I52 has a hub I54 which is rotatably joumaled onthe shaft I20 and is also slidable axially on the latter. The othermember I55 of the slip clutch I53 has a hub I56 which is rigidly fixedto the stub shaft I20 by means of a pin I51 extending through alignedapertures in the shaft I20 and member I55. The two clutch members I52,I55 are provided with a pair of intermeshing annular jaw collars I60, I6|, respectively, each of said jaw collars being provided with axiallyextending lugs I62 which fit into corresponding recesses in therespective clutch member I52, I55, and thereby holding the jaw collarsin driving relation with the respective clutch members. The jaw collarsI60, ISI are provided with intermeshing, hard clutch jaws I63 which areof such a shape as to cause a component of the driving force to tend toseparate the two clutch members by urging the driven member I52outwardly axially along the shaft I29, in well-known manner. This axialmovement of the clutch member I52 is resistedby means of a strongcompression coil spring I95 which encircles the outer end of the stubshaft I20 and bears against an adjusting nut I60 which is threaded onthe outer end of the stub shaft I20, the latter being correspondinglythreaded, as indicated at Iti. The adjusting nut I 06 is secured inadjusted position by means of a pin I69 which is adapted to be insertedthrough an elongated opening in the adjusting nut I56 which can bealigned with a suitable aperture I69 in the shaft I20 to receive the pinI68. The spring I65 bears against a sprocket IIil which is slidablydisposed on the shaft I20 and has driving jaws III which interengagewith corresponding jaws on the hub I50 of the clutch member I52. Thusthe force of the spring I85 is transmitted through the sprocket I710against the movable clutch member I52.

The purpose of the sprocket I10 is for driving the harvester reel I (seeFigure l), by means of a chain IIt which drives a sprocket II'I fixed toa countershaft I79 journaled above the feeder house 20 and which in turnis connected by another chain I79 to the shaft I80 of the reel H5. Thestub shaft I2I at the opposite end of the auger 23, is fixed in thespider hub III by means of a set screw I00 which is adjustable throughan opening M8 in the hollow shaft I00. The outer end of the stub shaftIEI is supported in a bearing hub I85, containing suitable antifrictionrollers IBIS. The hub I65 fits into an opening I87! in the end wall I89at the grainward end of the platform and suitably secured therein bymeans of a cotter pin I39 inserted through an opening in the end of thestub shaft I2I outside of the bearing hub I95. One or more spacingwashers I are inserted between the end wall I 88 and a shoulder I9I onthe bearing hub to prevent too much end-play of the latter on the stubshaft.

To prepare the combine for transport, the width of the machine must bereduced in order to permit it to pass through narrow gates and alongnarrow roads. 'The reel and sickle are first removed from the platformand the details of these operations form no part of the presentinvention. The cotter pin I89 is then withdrawn from the end of the stubshaft IN and the bearing hub I65 and washers I90 are removed from theend wall I89. The platform 20 is then separated at its line of division,indicated at I in Figure l, by removing certain bolts, the details ofwhich form no part of the present invention, The outer half of theplatform is then removed, after which the auger bearing supporting plateI30 is disconnected from the feeder house wall 39 by removing the boltsI33, I35. The entire auger 23 can then be slid out of the feeder housewithout dismantling the stubbleward bearing I24 I or without removingthe sprockets or the slip clutch from the stub shaft I20. The supportingplate I30 and the entire driving mechanism including sprockets and slipclutch merely pass through the opening I 23 which is large enough toaccommodate the removal of these parts therethrough. This is a greatconvenience over the conventional method of disassembly whichnecessitates dismantling the driving mechanism and thus not only savestime but eliminates the danger of losing some of the many small partswhich are assembled in the driving mechanism.

Obviously, the assembly of the combine is merely the converse of theabove-mentioned procedure. The stubbleward end of the auger is securedin place once more merely by replacing the six bolts I33, I35.

We claim:

1. In a combine having a body,.a threshing cylinder mounted in saidbody, a feeder unit mounted in front of said cylinder by means providingfor vertical swinging movement relative to said body, a rotary beatermounted above said feeder by means providing for vertical movement withsaid feeder and for shifting movement of said beater along said feeder,and link means connecting said beater with said body to shiftingmovement relative to the pivot axis of the latter, and means connectingsaid bearings to said body to shift said beater as the feeder housingswings vertically.

3. In a machine of the class described having a body and a rotary croptreating cylinder journaled therein, a feeder unit pivotally supportedin front of said cylinder for vertical swinging movement relative tosaid body and including a flexible endless conveyor for moving cropstoward said cylinder, a rotary beater disposed above said conveyor,bearing means for rotatably supporting said beater, said bearing meansbeing carried on said feeder unit and shiftable relative thereto alongsaid endless conveyor, and means connecting said bearing means with saidbody to hold said beater at a substantially constant distance from saidcylinder regardless of the vertical swinging movement of said feederunit.

4. In a machine of the class described having a body and a rotary croptreating cylinder journal 'i therein, a feeder housing pivotallysupported on said body for verticaiswinging movement about an axisgenerally parallel to the axis of rotation of said cylinder andincluding a flexible endless conveyor in the lower portion of thehousing for moving crops toward said cylinder, a rotary beater disposedin said housing above said conveyor, bearing means for rotatablysupporting said beater, said bearing means being slidably supported inguideways in said housing providing for shifting said beater generallyparallel to said conveyor, and link means connecting said bearing meansto said body, whereby the beater is shifted in said guideways as thefeeder housing swings about said pivot connection, to maintain theposition of the beater substantially constant relative to the conveyorand the cylinder,

5. In a machine of the class described having a body, a feeder unitmounted on said body for vertical movement relative to said body, afeeder mounted on said feeder unit by means providing for shiftingmovement of said feeder relative to said feeder unit, and meansresponsive to relative movement between said feeder unit and said bodyfor shifting said feeder with respect to said feeder unit to maintainsaid feeder at a constant distance from said body as said feeder unitmoves with respect to said body.

6. In a combine having a thresher housing and a threshing cylindermounted therein, a feeder unitmounted on said housing for verticalswinging movement relative thereto, a feeder mounted on said feeder unitby means providing for shifting movement of said feeder relative to saidfeeder unit, and mechanical means responsive to relative verticalmovement of said feeder unit and said housing for shifting said feederwith respect to said feeder unit to maintain said feeder at a constantdistance from said threshing cylinder as said feeder unit moves with respect to said threshing housing.

7. In a combine having a thresher housing and a threshing cylindermounted therein, a feeder unit mounted on said housing for verticalswinging movement relative thereto, a conveyor on said feeder unit, afeeder mounted in said feeder unit by means providing for shifting saidfeeder relative to said feeder unit along a path maintaining a definiterelation 'to said conveyor, and means connecting said feeder with saidhousing for shifting said feeder with respect to said feeder unit tomaintain said feeder at a constant distance from said threshing cylinder

